CLOUDS Synonyms: 90 Similar and Opposite Words

clouds 1 of 2

noun

plural of cloud

as in shadows

an overspreading element that produces an atmosphere of gloom all day we were under a cloud until we heard the good news

Synonyms & Similar Words

Relevance

clouds

2 of 2

verb

present tense third-person singular of cloud

as in obscures

to make dark, dim, or indistinct the diner's dark interior, clouded with smoke and grease

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

as in confuses

to make (something) unclear to the understanding cloud the issue with obscure statistics

Synonyms & Similar Words

Antonyms & Near Antonyms

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Recent Examples of clouds

Noun

Low clouds that developed overnight gradually lifted and scattered, allowing more sunshine and temperatures to climb into the lower 90s. — Michael Autovino, CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026 The welcome sight of clouds brought me back to one of my favorite Vietnamese restaurants, Pho Hue Oi in Redondo Beach. — Los Angeles Times, 13 Oct. 2026 High temperatures will warm just a tad Tuesday with a few light clouds still streaming through occasionally with mostly sunny skies. — Sean MacAday, Sacbee.com, 12 Oct. 2026 There’s the big rock, and here comes the mothership and its clouds and all this color behind it. — Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 10 Oct. 2026 Specialist neoclouds can offer more flexibility than the larger GPU clouds, which often require upfront payments and long-term commitments. — Jordan Novet, CNBC, 10 Oct. 2026 The Milky Way paints the sky with dark, looming clouds lit by the galaxy's many stars. — Chelsea Gohd, Space.com, 9 Oct. 2026 The Nobel committee said IceCube would take neutrino astronomy to a new level, providing information about cosmic phenomena that are hidden behind dust clouds and distant space objects such as black holes. — Katie Hunt, CNN Money, 6 Oct. 2026 The other stuff is just kind of add-ons, like dark clouds coming through. — Stephanie Nolasco, FOXNews.com, 6 Oct. 2026

Verb

There’s a running joke about the MCU having the most magical water that clouds everything. — Destiny Jackson, Deadline, 15 Aug. 2026 The United States’ relationship with its partners in the region also clouds its messaging and invites escalation. — Erik Lin-Greenberg, Foreign Affairs, 31 July 2026 Much of the debris that clouds the water in this technique is leftover detergent and fabric softener that build up in fabric fibers over time, according to the article. — Betsy Cribb Watson, Southern Living, 12 July 2026 The recent explosion of Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket on its launch pad in Florida also clouds ULA’s return-to-flight plans for Vulcan. — Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 7 July 2026 Mamdani has done the same, but Sherman’s own bias against Muslims clouds his judgment. — Voice Of The People, New York Daily News, 29 June 2026 When Kendi began experiencing slight cloudiness in her right eye, veterinarians identified the issue head-on — cataracts, a condition that clouds the eye's lens and can lead to blindness if left untreated. — Ingrid Vasquez, PEOPLE, 9 June 2026 Ambiguity clouds the conversation and risks leaving your protégé more confused than enlightened. — Chip Bell, Forbes.com, 15 May 2026 Soap scum clouds the shower glass. — Lauren Jarvis-Gibson, Charlotte Observer, 30 Apr. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for clouds

Noun

Depending on the time of day and the weather, visitors will see these spaces under different light and cast with varying shadows.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 9 Oct. 2026
The diagrid also casts cool shadows that shift as the day goes by.

— Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 8 Oct. 2026

Definition of shadows

Verb

That is, when the dialogue is audible at all; much of it ends up subsumed by a thundering sound mix that obscures what you’re actually meant to hear.

— Siddhant Adlakha, Variety, 15 Oct. 2026
Pedestrians walk along Marina Bay as thick haze obscures the Merlion park and surrounding skyline in Singapore on October 14, 2026.

— Jenny Lee,Zechariah Chan, CNBC, 15 Oct. 2026

Definition of obscures

Verb

The legal system dehumanizes her, the support group confuses her, and one of her friends painfully disappoints her.

— Carey Purcell, Vogue, 2 Oct. 2026
This confuses each Nyota but also those around them, who note that the Nyotas have rather quickly assumed new hairstyles but also that neither is behaving quite like herself.

— Keith Phipps, Vulture, 24 Sep. 2026

Definition of confuses

Noun

Upper hazes on gas giants have been studied ad nauseam, but microphysical processes beneath the main cloud layer remain an enigma.

— Elizabeth Rayne, ArsTechnica, 1 Oct. 2026
The scientists also want to gain a more detailed understanding of the three-dimensional structure of the decagon's clouds, hazes, winds and temperatures.

— Charles Q. Choi, Space.com, 2 Sep. 2026

Definition of hazes

Verb

But even with 22 tracks to work with, the sound too often defaults to a similar muted backdrop, which blurs some of the less distinct songs together.

— Molly Mary O’Brien, Pitchfork, 7 Oct. 2026
Hoover’s 2018 novel, Verity, is a gripping mystery where trust is elusive and the line between fiction and reality blurs.

— Lexy Perez, HollywoodReporter, 5 Oct. 2026

Definition of blurs

Verb

Instead, Cubans turn to the internet, reading abroad what their government obfuscates or denies at home.

— Joseph J. Gonzalez, The Conversation, 9 July 2026
His bad-boy swagger externally obfuscates his heart of gold, but his goodness and morality are apparent.

— Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 29 May 2026

Definition of obfuscates

Browse Nearby Words

cloud nine

clouds

cloudy

See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

Style

“Clouds.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/clouds. Accessed 19 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation

Synonyms of clouds

noun

verb

Example Sentences

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

fervid

Popular in Grammar & Usage

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Exceptions of '-s' and '-es' Plurals

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?

Popular in Wordplay

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Bad Endings and Rough Situations

Did 'orange' the fruit or the color come first?

Popular

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

16 Food Words Recently Added to the Dictionary

The Real Origin of 'Supercalifragilistic'

Games & Quizzes